Heartbreak
by what-is-a-social-life
Summary: Five times heartbreak brought Bella and Troy closer together.


**DISCLAIMER: I do not own it.**

I.

She'd put her entire heart on the line to ask him to the Sadie Hawkins, only to learn she was _too. fucking. late._ He was going with someone else.

She's off her game at practice. She's been playing with the guys for years now, so they (and the coach) know better now than to tell her to lock up her feelings and throw away the key. She feels Troy's and Newt's and Sawyer's gaze on her, though, and knows that they all can tell what happened.

It winds up just being her and Troy in the locker room. She's in her section, and she's trying to fight the tears, but eventually she's giving in to them and clutching the wall tightly, trying to be silent and not let Troy see.

But then strong arms wrap around her waist and kiss her head. He had been a scrawny middle school, but now he was a buff high school junior, and arguably her best friend in the whole world.

"Wanna talk about it?" he murmurs. The whole team has gotten better about respecting her emotions- girl tears don't phase them anymore- and comforting her, especially when she's on her period.

( _The boys had originally been embarrassed by having a calendar in the locker room with the days she's on her period clearly marked, but it turned out to be extremely useful, especially when they had games during that slot of time._ )

"No?" she replies, shifting in his arms so that her head is buried into his shoulder instead.

"You need a ride?" he asks instead of prying. He knows that Sophie drove her to school every morning, but there's a cheerleading event that they had had to go that afternoon, and he's sure she'd forgotten to get a ride home.

"That'd be nice."

The car ride is pretty silent, the radio already on the classic rock station. Troy normally prefers country, but he likes watching Bella out of the corner of his eye rocking out to the guitar solos and talking about the various bands. But she's quiet. Literally the entire time. It's unnerving.

"Harry already has a date," she finally sighs. "I know it's stupid, but-"

"Hey," Troy interrupts, taking a hand off the steering wheel to gently squeeze her leg, "It's okay."

He removes his hand from her leg and returns it to the wheel. They are both blushing slightly.

"You know, I don't have a date yet, either, since Sophie and I broke up," he says, slowly, as he turns on to her street. "And I know it's a Sadie Hawkins, but, um, we could go together?"

A small smile starts to grow on Bella's face. She nods.

"Yeah. Yeah, I-I'd like that."

"Okay then. We can talk more about it tomorrow, or you can text me tonight."

"Yeah. Bye, Troy."

He tries to ignore the strange flutter in his stomach as he watches her slowly jog up the pathway to her house. He shakes his head and pulls out of the driveway.

* * *

II.

"Hey, what did the scout say?" Newt asks Bella as she walks in. It's just him, Sawyer, and Troy in the locker room.

"I don't want to talk about it," she says quickly, grabbing her stuff and slamming the locker shut, not even bothering to change out. "Bye, guys. See you Monday."

Troy grabs her arm and spins her around. Her eyes are rimmed red and snot is about to start leaking from her nose. He's never seen her like this, ever.

"What happened, Bella?" She takes a deep, shuddering breath. He waits. They all do.

"He said that, while they would love to have me play for the team, they don't think they'll give me a scholarship."

"What, why?" Sawyer asks in shock, and Troy is reminded that he and Bella aren't alone in the locker room.

"Why do you think, Sawyer?" she says sadly, "Because I'm a _girl_. They don't think I take this seriously, or that I'll actually show up to play for them. They don't want to risk me being a _liability_." She spat the last word out like it was laced with poison.

Troy pulls her into him and wraps his arms around her, tightly. Newt and Sawyer come in from behind, pushing Bella farther up against him.

"Don't listen to some jerk scout. You're awesome, Belle, on and off the field. Don't forget it."

* * *

III.

"You know," Bella calls as he tries to punt through the goalposts yet again, "You're not the kicker for a reason."

Troy spins around to face her, his face coated in sweat and an angry fire in his eyes. Behind the fire, though, is hurt, heartbreak. She can see it clear as day.

"C'mon, let's throw," she says, pulling a football off the cart and tossing it to him. He catches it clumsily. She knows then just how beat up he is. "I assume this has to do with an exam, because why else would you be out here when it's thirty-six degrees?"

"Are you trying to pry, Bella?"

"A little." She catches the ball and sees Troy's raised, skeptical eyebrow. "A lot, actually."

"I wasn't accepted at A&M," he sighs. Bella drops the ball. That's his dream school. No wonder he looked so dead inside.

She races forward and pulls him into a hug.

"I'm so sorry."

"There's nothing you could have done," he sighs. She rubs her hand up and down his back, hoping the physical touch at least helps.

It seems to.

"Thanks, Bella." She pulls back.

"So I guess that means you're coming to Houston with me?"

"Probably, yeah," he laughs.

"Troy. They offered you a scholarship. They're telling you that it's your destiny to go to college with your best friend."

His stomach drops at the words 'best friend.' He hides it, though.

He has no idea that she is hiding her stomach's fall, too.

* * *

IV.

She wants to hide the ring when she goes to Troy's. His pretty serious girlfriend has just dumped him, he doesn't need to see her flaunting her ring in his face.

Of course, he notices right away.

"You're engaged now?" he asks hoarsely. She glances at her ring quickly.

"Uh, yeah."

"Erika was one of the few girls who made me think about marriage," he sighs. "And now she's gone. She didn't think I was good enough."

"Troy Dixon," Bella says sharply, "You are one of the best guys I know. So stop throwing yourself a pity party, take a shower, and then I will drag Newt, Sophie, and Sawyer up here to take you to a bar, get you massively and inappropriately drunk, and then we will talk again on this matter when you have your head screwed on straight."

He chuckles and shakes his head at her.

"Dawson, how did I ever survive without you?"

"I don't know, but you're going to learn to have to," she attempts to joke. He looks up at her in alarm. "No, no! I mean I'll be changing my name when I get married!" she says quickly. Troy laughs, and his laughter just gets harder as she blushes. "Shut up, Dixon."

"Whatever, Dawson. Sorry, _Frederick._ "

She rolls her eyes and tries to ignore the uncomfortable feeling that springs up in her stomach when Troy calls her Bella Frederick.

* * *

V.

"I come bearing gifts," Troy says when Bella opens the door.

"Whatever," she says monotonically, walking back over to the couch. He heads to the kitchen and unpacks the ice cream and chocolate that Sophie had told him to get. Why she fucking _couldn't_ _do this herself_ he doesn't know, but he doesn't dare ask. "At least you're up. Pepper said she couldn't get you to even answer the door and she had to get your landlord to unlock it for her because she forgot where you kept the spare key."

"Why are you here, Troy?" Bella sighs, rubbing at her temples.

"Because your _ass_ of what I hope is now ex-fiancé has been cheating on you with _five_ other women since the day you met him. Newt, Sawyer, Sophie, and I plan on teaching him a lesson, by the way."

"You don't need to teach him a lesson, Troy," she sighs.

"He is your ex now, right?" Bella nods. Her eyes look dead. "Come here, Tinker Bell."

He hasn't called her that since high school graduation. She smiles slightly as she walks towards him, his arms wrapping around her tightly.

"I thought he was the one, Troy," she murmurs. He means to say _I know the feeling._

"He's not. But maybe I am," is what he says instead.

Bella springs out of his arms, and he is mentally cursing himself. But once he says it, though, it all makes sense. And based on the new life sparking in Bella's eyes, she feels the same way.

If only it hadn't taken them fourteen years to realize it. He could've saved her from her horrendous, five-timing ex. (How Bella hadn't caught him earlier was far beyond Troy's belief, and it made him even madder.)

He walked forwards and placed a delicate kiss to her lips, wanting to see how she'd react.

( _He spent the night. And when they get engaged, he makes sure that the diamond is bigger._ )


End file.
